Demetrious Johnson wants to be a BJJ blackbelt after fighting career is over

Demetrious Johnson plans on getting his black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu once he hangs up his gloves for good.

On May 5, ‘Mighty Mouse’ will step inside the Circle for his 30th career professional fight. After capturing the ONE flyweight world championship in spectacular fashion at ONE on Prime Video 1 in August, Johnson will defend his crown against the man he took it from, former eight-time titleholder Adriano Moraes.

With suggestions that it could potentially be the final fight of his career, Demetrious Johnson is already looking at ways to keep himself occupied once settled into retirement. Speaking with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, ‘Mighty Mouse’ revealed that one of his bucket list items is earning his black belt in BJJ.

“Life's too short not to explore different avenues, and it's something that I want to do,” Johnson said. “It's something I want to do. And I don't want to do a lot of things. But that's something I was like, no, I want to do it. I really want to get my black belt. I'm a brown belt now.”

While not quite a black belt yet, Demetrious Johnson’s well-rounded grappling skills will most certainly come in handy when he once again squares off with division rival Adriano Moraes in what many are calling the biggest trilogy bout in ONE Championship history.

Adriano Moraes will already go into the bout as a legend of the sport. With 20 career wins, a 73% finish rate inside the Circle, and capturing the ONE flyweight world title on three separate occasions, nobody can deny his status as one of the greatest in the division’s history.

If Moraes can secure a second win over Johnson, something nobody in the sport has ever done, he will undoubtedly go down as the greatest flyweight of all time.

Amazon Prime Video subscribers in North America can catch ONE Fight Night 10 live and for free in U.S. primetime on May 5.